digital comics - lots of dumb? questions from an absolute dummy...

[stumped]

so I have just seen amazon's guided view reading method on a fire tablet which is impressive.

but I am used to working outside of amazon's restrictions e.g. I convert all my purchased books to epub, store them in calibre, move them with calibre companion, read in moon+..

what are my options then , to collect & read "guided view" comics on a pure android tablet:
. where to buy ( outside of amazon)- in a way that I can still use calibre etc.
. what to convert TO - if needed - or should I stick with buy from amazon and just use the Kindle for android app
. what android reader to buy ( must be ad free)- assuming moon+ is not optimised for comics

is "guided view" an industry standard or are there various proprietary versions. is it something "built in" to the book file or something that the reader app figures out how to do?

probably other questions to follow but those will help get me started

I am only interested in western comics, in English - if that's relevant - not anime, manga.... and I am UK based for purchases.

[ilovejedd]

CBZ is the format most often supported by comic readers (basically a plain ZIP file full of images). I believe there are Android comic readers that can do automatic panel detection but given these are purely software-based they can sometimes miss panels, mess up the panel sequence, etc. for pages with complex layouts.

Guided View is proprietary and initially came from comiXology (which Amazon acquired in 2014). At least back in its early days, there was an actual human reviewing the panels iirc so it was a mix of software-based panel detection and manpower for fine-tuning. In the US, one can buy comics from Amazon and get both Kindle and comiXology versions (but not the reverse). I'm not sure if it's the same situation in UK.

Personally, I buy on Amazon so I can easily liberate my comics and have DRM-free copies for posterity. However, I tend to prefer using the comiXology app over Kindle for automatic series grouping and really, better overall metadata and organization.

comiXology tends to have higher quality, too. For example, Black Monday Murders Vol. 1 (Hickman, Coker):

• comiXology: 250MB
• azw3 download: 47.5MB
• Amazon website: 179,584KB (only accessible via Kindle for PC/Mac 1.19+ and Android/iOS apps, and includes duplicate HQ and LQ images anyway)

[ilovejedd]

P.S.
Some publishers (e.g. Image, IDW) allow DRM-free CBZ and PDF backups on comiXology so that's pretty nice as well.

[stumped]

thanks guys - I doubt I would have spotted that amazon had bought comixology - I figured they were competitors

is CBZ a fully supported calibre format, for conversions, send to...

is it always the case that amazon don't bother with a separate comics format or a specialized reader and just put them in AZW3 to be read in Kindle for XYZ?

[stumped]

FYI - my wife is a big Neil Gaiman fan- she just finished all the amazon video series - Gods, Omens...and was asking about Sandman series but that only exists as comics?

We found 3 in Kindle unlimited, and I can see several more that are not in KU. I've not gotten around to researching any other stores as yet. Hoping not to catch a bad case of collector-itis and end up chasing expensive rarities on ebay
.
I also see that there are some annotated version of Sandman but I don't think they are obtainable in any digital format, only as paper or hardback books? so we may end up getting a mix of digital and print versions

[ilovejedd]

Calibre supports CBZ and it should be fine if you're converting from AZW3/KFX/EPUB to CBZ. For CBZ to ebook conversion though, I prefer to use Kindle Comic Converter (there's a thread here somewhere).

Amazon used to use AZW3 for comics but now they've been switching to KFX.

Sandman is DC Vertigo and at least in the US, I've only seen those on Amazon and B&N. No DC or Marvel on Kobo US I've seen so I've just stuck with Amazon.

There's a Sandman sale going on in the US right now. Perhaps there's one in the UK, too?

series page: https://www.comixology.com/The-Sandm...ics-series/349

sale page: https://www.comixology.com/comics-sa...d=30686&lang=1

$5 per volume is pretty much the lowest they go.

What I tend to do is browse by series on comiXology because they're much more organized (even tells you what collections the individual issues are included in). When I find something I want, I go to Amazon website to search then purchase. I never buy directly from comiXology unless it's from a publisher that allows DRM-free backups. If comiXology price is lower than Amazon, I just report it to Amazon (via the tell us about a lower price link) and it usually gets changed in a day or so.

DC is pretty good at milking customers. I don't even want to count how many different releases they have for Watchmen. Definitely be wary of collector-itis.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by stumped

...and was asking about Sandman series but that only exists as comics?

'Sandman' TV Series From Neil Gaiman, David Goyer — With Huge Price Tag — a Go at Netflix

Neil Gaiman's beloved Vertigo comic Sandman is finally coming to the screen.

More than three years after New Line's failed attempt to turn the graphic novel into a feature film, Netflix has signed what sources describe as a massive financial deal with Warner Bros. Television to adapt the best-seller into a live-action TV series. Sources familiar with the pact note it is the most expensive TV series that DC Entertainment has ever done. The drama has officially been picked up with an 11-episode order.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by jhowell

'Sandman' TV Series From Neil Gaiman, David Goyer — With Huge Price Tag — a Go at Netflix

thanks again to all- so sandman could be on TV in some future year but probably not for ages...

the only issue I have with AZW is that i prefer not to have the amazon reader app on my pure android tablet - so as not to expose myself to accidental one click purchases s and so as not to expose my amazon account if I somehow managed to mislay that tablet ( it has no security set as normally it never leaves the house)

is there a "best" advert free e reader app for comics on android devices. not fussed abour collections and shelves, just a smooth "reading" experience

[ilovejedd]

On Android, I used to use Perfect Viewer (CBZ files). I don't use guided view, though. I prefer reading full page.

I've given up on Android tablets though and use a 12.9" iPad for comics nowadays.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

On Android, I used to use Perfect Viewer (CBZ files). I don't use guided view, though. I prefer reading full page.

thanks - I assume I will find that on Google play ?

i have a 10 inch android tablet, but my eyesight is not what it used to be!

so I may need guided view

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by stumped

thanks - I assume I will find that on Google play ?

Yep.

Originally Posted by stumped

i have a 10 inch android tablet, but my eyesight is not what it used to be!

so I may need guided view

You could always try the comiXology app if you absolutely need guided view. It logs in using your Amazon credentials but afaik, it's fairly self-contained.

I don't know if that's enough to prevent accidental purchases. I use both Kindle and comiXology apps on iPads so in-app purchasing is blocked in the first place. For other apps that allow in-app purchase, I still needed to approve via TouchID/fingerprint.

Iirc, Android automatically encrypts storage if you enable any passcode or fingerprint lock. Even some security is better than none.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by stumped

so I have just seen amazon's guided view reading method on a fire tablet which is impressive.

but I am used to working outside of amazon's restrictions e.g. I convert all my purchased books to epub, store them in calibre, move them with calibre companion, read in moon+..

what are my options then , to collect & read "guided view" comics on a pure android tablet:
. where to buy ( outside of amazon)- in a way that I can still use calibre etc.
. what to convert TO - if needed - or should I stick with buy from amazon and just use the Kindle for android app
. what android reader to buy ( must be ad free)- assuming moon+ is not optimised for comics

is "guided view" an industry standard or are there various proprietary versions. is it something "built in" to the book file or something that the reader app figures out how to do?

probably other questions to follow but those will help get me started

I am only interested in western comics, in English - if that's relevant - not anime, manga.... and I am UK based for purchases.

I'm coming to this thread late and jedd seems to have answered your questions. But to answer a few more:

For downloaded comics, .cbz and .cbr are standard formats. The equivalent to ePub for e-books. All .cbz and .cbr are are renamed .zip and .rar files. Digital comics are just a folder full of images that have been zipped and had their extensions renamed.

I have a ton of digital comics, but I don't use Calibre to sort them, so I'm not sure how well the two work together.

Much like e-books in the US, Amazon has cornered the market in digital comics. ComiXology is the best place to buy comics from, though most publishers do sell comics at their sites as well (or at least they did last I checked).

When you buy at ComiXology, they fully expect you to read in their app. However, some publishers (Image comics, various indies) will let you download DRM-free cbz files. Unfortunately you have to do this with ComiXology on the web. You won't see that option in their Android app.

For the publishers that WON'T let you download, there's a Chrome plug-in you can install that will download CBZ files for you. It's what I use. You can find it here: https://cmxlgy.wordpress.com/

One publisher of note: 2000AD does not sell on ComiXology. However, they sell directly on their website and they sell DRM-free CBZ files.

I agree with Jedd that Perfect Viewer is probaly the best comic viewer on Android. Other apps I would suggest checking out are Challenger Comics and CDisplayEX are also pretty good. All are available on Google Play. Perfect Viewer and Challenger are ad-free. CDisplay might have ads. I'm not sure. I purchased/donated to all three aps, so I don't see ads regardless.

I wouldn't recommend using guided view. It can wreck the comic reading experience. What would Guided View do to a page like the one I attached? You can pinch and zoom if you need better details.

[ZodWallop]

Incidentally, I moved from a 10" Android tablet to a Surface Pro. The 12.3" screen and 3:2 ratio are great for American style comics.

[Apparition B5]

I've been using Comixology since 2011. As has already been pointed out, some publishers like IDW and Image make DRM-free backups of their comic books and graphic novels available in CBZ and PDF formats. However, most do not.

Most DC and Marvel comic books and graphic novels are available in DRM-protected PDF files on Google Play Books, but not all, and it's difficult to determine which comic books and graphic novels offer that before purchasing. In addition, the resolution of digital comic books and graphic novels on Google Play Books is much lower than the resolution of digital comic books and graphic novels on Comixology.

I've just learned to accept that most digital comic book and graphic novel purchases are going to be locked down with DRM, and read them via the Comixology app on my iPad Air. The Comixology app has worked just fine the past eight years and I don't see any reason to change. Indeed, there's very little way to change if I want high quality resolution.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Apparition B5

I've been using Comixology since 2011. As has already been pointed out, some publishers like IDW and Image make DRM-free backups of their comic books and graphic novels available in CBZ and PDF formats. However, most do not.

Indeed, there's very little way to change if I want high quality resolution.

There's the Chrome plug-in I linked to. My downloaded back-ups have a resolution of 1073X1650.